Out Now
Nashville, TN – Monument and RCA Records singer/songwriter Walker Hayes releases brand new track “Ball Player,” out now.
“Ball Player” is a letter to Hayes’ kids, and to dads everywhere. In his own words, Hayes shares the story of the day the track was written:
“My buddies Ben Hayslip, Rhett Akins and Ross Copperman showed up to write. I love writing with them because they’re all dads. Both of Ben’s boys are outstanding ball players. We always catch up on how our kids are doing in sports and what not. Ben told me his son, Camden was struggling with some injuries, etc. One of those one step forward two steps back situations. I could really relate with how Ben was feeling. We also talked about our mistakes as fathers. Apologies we probably owed our sons over the years.
It’s truly humbling, as a father, when you can’t find the words to lift your kids up when they’re down. So, we wrote something for Camden that day. We wrote something for all our kids. Something we could take home that day and share with them. Reminding them their identity isn’t what they produce on a ball field, on a court, at a job, etc. They’re more than just ball players. God has indeed given them the gift of athleticism, but their purpose is bigger than baseball. We love em now & we’re gonna love em later.”
Listen to “Ball Player” HERE
“Ball Player” is out today, celebrating the start of the Little League Baseball World Series finals, broadcast on ESPN for the next two weeks.
As a songwriter Hayes is never scared to dig into his real life, which often means he is singing about his kids, and what type of dad he wants to be. That can be heard on songs like fan favorite “Lela’s Stars,” or sweet ode “Chapel ,” and on top 5 country hit “ AA,” or the heartbreaking “Briefcase.”
That style of deeply personal songwriting is ever so present on “Ball Player” where he sings:
You ain’t just a ball player
You ain’t just a home run ball on a shelf
You ain’t just a jersey with my last name on it
Just a way to relive it myself
Hope you make it to the big someday
Son, I know that’s your prayer
But trust me and the man upstairs
You ain’t just a ball player
Love you now and ima love you later
You ain’t just a ball player
“Ball Player” is available everywhere today.
About Walker Hayes:
Monument Records recording artist Walker Hayes is a singer/songwriter originally from Mobile, Alabama. In 2021, his smash hit “Fancy Like” topped every country music sales and streaming chart, spent more than six months at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart, hit the top 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songs, hit No. 1 at country radio, and gave Hayes his first GRAMMY Award nomination as an artist for Best Country Song. The song was also featured in a nationwide Applebee’s commercial. That track, as well as follow up single’s “AA,” “Y’all Life,” and “Good With Me” have made Hayes one of the top selling and streamed artists in country music. His last project, Sober Thoughts, included single “Same Drunk” and saw Hayes partnering with Athletic Brewing on a custom non-alcoholic beer.
Hayes has performed his music, including the Double-Platinum RIAA certified hit “You Broke Up With Me,” to national audiences on Good Morning America, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and TODAY, and he was profiled for CBS Sunday Morning.
Hayes is currently out on his headlining tour, The Same Drunk Tour, which follows his last arena tours, The Duck Buck Tour and the Glad You’re Here Tour. The Glad You’re Here Tour is the same title as the book Hayes released in 2022 with his best friend, Craig Allen Cooper, detailing his journey to finding Christ.
